Picker check



June 18, 1957 c, MOON ET AL I 2,796,087

PICKER CHECK Filed Jan. 25, 1956 M ii JOSEPH M-BUDZYNA Rocco Mucclmzouz A TTORNE Y I: INVENTOR. I v CLIFFORD G. MOON United States Patent PICKER CHECK Clifford "G. Moon, Hopedale, Joseph Budzyna, East Douglas, and Rocco Mucciarone, Franklin, Mass, as- "signors to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass in corporation of Maine Application January 23, 19 6, Serial No. 560,685

4 Claims. (Cl-139- -165) picking and boxing of the shuttle in looms andi'to arrest the picker stick and shuttle with the latter inlprop'eiily boxed position and withoutzrebound.

A more specific object is that of checking "the stick and the shuttle through 'the stick "by afmeans which rsha li constitute a rebound deadening stop means rather than by a more or less rigid member as has heretofore been employed.

According to the "conventional :practice in weaving with fly shuttle looms, the picker stick :is checked iniits picking and return movements by a check strap of :le'ather'or :fabric or of a combination of these with other materialsgthe same being provided for frictioning within a bracket of known type. The stick is returned part way -'to an extreme outer position by a spring means and then, when the shuttle reenters the box, it engages the pickerand moves it and the'sti'c'kto'an "extremefoiiter;position. retically, the absorption 'or energy "by the various frictional influences is intended to be such as to stop the parts with the stick in contact with an abutment which closes off a stick guiding slot in the lay end. There may be a thickness of leather to pad this abutment to an extent, but to all intents and purposes, it amounts to a rigid stop which will cause the stick to rebound if it reaches the abutment with any appreciable amount of residual energy in the shuttle.

According to the invention herein described at length in following paragraphs, there is no fixed or rigid abutment against which the stick strikes, but instead, the check strap is supplemented by a second strap of flexible material which encompasses the outer end portion of the check strap and has both its ends fixed or anchored. The length of this outer or stop strap is such as to limit the outward movement of the stick and, of course, the shuttle, to limits governed by the intended position the latter may best occupy when picked, or for bobbin transfer. The anchorages and general arrangement of parts are further such that an endless check strap may be used to best advantage with the supplementary stop strap and the two function upon the stick in fully balanced relationship thereto.

The invention will be described in detail by reference to one specific embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying figures of drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of parts at one end of a loom to which the invention is applied.

Fig. 2 is a section at line 2-2, Fig. 1, showing details of the invention.

Now referring to Fig. 1, part of a loom is shown including a loomside 10, rock shaft 11 to which is clamped a sword 12 at the upper end of which is mounted in the usual way a lay beam 13. This lay beam has a lay end generally indicated by numeral 14 and slotted as at 15, Fig. 2. Rock-shaft 11 also has a parallel mechanism 16 clamped to its end and a picker stick 17 is supported in the parallel having the usual picker 18 at its upper end by which a shuttle S isqengaged.

Stick 17 is picked :by the usual cam and pick ball means (not shown.) which function on the stick through shaft.19,arm 20 and lug connections 2-1. I

As may be seen ;in both figures, a check strap 22 is mounted in a bracket 23 which has the usual depending fingers 24, 25 and .26 duplicated at each side. The fingers 24 and 25 are relatively fixed While finger '26 is capable -of adjustment. The adjustment is effected in the conventional way and by staggering the fingers to greater or :lesser-extent, the frictional eifect on the strap is likewise varied as required.

While the two sides of the lay end which extend lengthwise at either side of slot 15 might conceivably be left open, it is preferred for structural design reasons 'to tie these together by a :fillenpiece 27 held in place by bolts 28. {In llay ends as previously employed this would also constitute an abutment against which the stick Wouldalways strike, or at :least, against which itshouldstrike and stop according to the intent or theory underlying previously used mechanisms. Here the member 27 is purely a structural one and it is so positioned that :the stick should never strike against .it. Practically from one-half to one inch of space is provided between the parts to clearance. I

' A second flexible strap member which is also a stop means for limiting the movement of the stick, ,picker and shuttle in outward direction is provided at .29. The

ends of this strap .iare "anchored by bolts 30 and Y31 to 'the'finge'rs 26, 'o'rt'o any other fixed parts'at that general locations The ends of this strap, or at least one end, .are slotted I "to-provideadjustment as to the strap length -and thus-adjustment of the end position or the stick and shuttle. a

The straps may be of leather, fabric, compositions of rubberized fabric and the like. If desired, multiple straps may be used to check, but the stop strap is preferably a single unit, although it may be laminated or otherwise of multiple thickness. Preferably the two are to be of the same or similar material, but that is not essential. The checking means, however, must be one in which the entire strap is first moved in one direction and then the other with each side portion sliding in and being frictioned within its retarding fingers or equivalent means. The outer strap 29 is so anchored and so disposed that it has no influence upon the check strap 22 until the stick has reached nearly the end of its travel toward the outermost position. Thus the checking member may function independently and with uniformity at each pick, while the stop member performs its function without causing lateral forces which tend to force the stick to the side of its slot in the lay end, thereby to set up adverse influences on the shuttle boxing and picking functions.

Parallel 16 may take other form and the picking means may be of any known type.

In operation the stick is picked and the strap 22 acts as usual to check the inward motion; a buffer at the loomside may also be utilized as is sometimes done. On the return motion first effected by a spring and heel strap as is conventional, the stick is checked by check strap 22 and is stopped in a position short of its extreme or end position. There is, of course, no effective contact with or action by the stop strap 29 at that time.

When the returning shuttle comes into the box, it ongages picker 18 with considerable force and displaces stick 17 against the retarding influence of strap 22 until the parts come to rest with the stop strap 29 in its taut or straighted relationship. The two straps assume more or less the conformations shown in Fig. 2, and while the reasons for better boxing control and easier action on the parts are not fully known, it appears that there is enough give to the strap 29 along with the fact it probably has a combined action with strap 22 just before therextreme position is reached so that there is a deadening effect rather than the sharp blow resulting when a stick hits a fixed and rigid abutment. The variation in shuttle position between full and empty bobbin conditions is measurably less, something which is, of course, very desirable.

Only one side of the loom has been shown and described, but it is to be understood that parts are duplicated at each side and therefore a description of one serve for the other.

While one embodiment of the invention'has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

We claim:

1. In a loom having a rock shaft, swords carried by said rock shaft, a lay mounted on said swords and having a slotted lay end, a parallel fixed to the rock shaft and a picker stick carried by the parallel and guided within the slot in said lay end, the combination of a checking means comprising a check strap and check strap friction brackets mounted at each side of the lay end for controlling the shuttle picking and return movements of the stick, and flexible strap means fixed at each end and encompassing the outer end portion of said check strap to constitute a stop for the strap and stick as the latter is moved to its outermost position upon entry of a shuttle into the box.

2. In a loom having a rock shaft, swords carried by said rock shaft, a lay mounted on said swords and having a slotted lay end, a parallel fixed to the rock shaft and a picker stick carried by the parallel and guided within the slot in said lay end, the combination of a checking means comprising a check strap and check strap friction brackets mounted at each side of the lay end for controlling the shuttle picking and return movements of the stick, and a flexible strap means of material similar to that of the check strap, said means forming a partial loop to encompass the outer end portion only of the check strap and to constitute a stop for the strap and stick as the latter is moved to its outermost position upon entry of a shuttle into the box.

3. In a loom having a rock shaft, swords carried by said rock shaft, a lay mounted on said swords and having a slotted lay end, a parallel fixed to the rock shaft and a picker stick carried by the parallel and guided within the slot in said lay end, the combination of a checking means comprising an endless type check strap and check strap friction brackets mounted at each side of the lay end for controlling the shuttle picking and return movements of the stick, and means to arrest the picker stick and shuttle in a desired outermost position which comprises in addition to the check strap, a stop strap having its ends anchored, said stop strap encompassing the outer end portion only of the check strap to limit its movement under the influence of the picker stick.

4. In a loom having a rock shaft, swords carried by said rock shaft, a lay mounted on said swords and having a slotted lay end, a parallel fixed to the rock shaft and a References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Baucher Nov. 24, 1908 Hamilton Oct. 1, 1946 

